Road Safety
Action Ideas *Quiet Lanes * Home zones * Road safety surveys * Slower speed initiatives Why it matters Some quick points: Major cause of deaths and injuries (directly) * As an example traffic "accidents" kill more than 40 000 each year in the U.S. alone. * In the western world the number of deaths have been declining in recent years, but in the developing world / "the south", traffic accidents take a larger and a growing toll, as the affluent increasingly use cars, but little is done to ensure acess and safety for those travelling by more sustainable means . /soft Major cost to society * Insurance * Construction to improve safety * Safety features in cars * Health sector: Emergency services, rehabilitation, psychological and economic burden of victims families Major cause of deaths and bad health (indirectly) * It has been claimed that a large part of the 400 000 estimated to die from a sedentary lifestyle and bad diet in the U.S. yearly could have lived longer if they had used their legs and hearts to go to work/school etc instead of using private cars. The World health organisation recommends 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. * The fear of being killed in traffic accidents, and partly the measures being put in place to keep pedestrians and cyclists "safe" - that is keep them off the roads, deters people from walking or biking, but using private cars instead. (It needs to be mentioned that in well-functioning cities public transport and walking/cycling can be combined). Safety concerns discourages sustainable transport * When sustainable transport is discouraged, population health is harmed through inactivity, but a modal shift to cycling walking and the use of public transport would also reduce , , dust, noise, , N2O, ground-level ozone and smog. What improves safety? - Any tradeoffs ? * The measured improvement in traffic safety in the rich countries, is in part explained by better emergency treatment. Victims that would not have surivived 20 years ago now do. But this costs society a great deal, and seriously injured and molested people are many times as many as the ones killed, end very many of them require special and expensive care for the rest of their lives. * Part of the improvement can be linked to safer cars (safer for the occupants), and safer roads (primarily for motorists. * Part of the improvement might be explained by fewer sustainable and "soft" actors being out there in the traffic. The costs of this shift in terms of obesity/a sedentary lifestyle appears to offset what has been gained from technological advances. * Part of the improvement stems from the realisation that speed kills, and the subsequent creation of reduced speed-zones. *Each year, traffic accidents kill about 1.2 million people and injure up to 50 million more. Source: Worldwatch Institute *Crash map:Every UK road death International Campaigns *Make Roads Safe, launched June 8 2006 News UK *Portsmouth's virtual blanket 20mph safety limit on residential streets starts to take effect on June 1. Portsmouth City Council, May 30 2007 / News South East England * Mayor of London launches Share the Road campaign. Mayor's press release, September 1 2006 Diary international 2011 *2011-2020 Time for Action - Decade of Action for Road Safety Diary UK November 2007 *'5 - 11' Road Safety Week Related Wikipedia content *Car safety *Vehicular cycling *Utility cycling *Traffic safety *Bicycle helmet ( Deter from cycling + scientific controversy on efficacy ) *United Nations Road Safety Collaboration *Commission for Global Road Safety *Walkable Communities UK *Institute of Advanced Motorists Links page *Safe Routes to Schools Information from Sustrans *Alliance Against Urban 4x4s *Brake, Road Safety Charity *Road Safety Index Page Information from the Department for Transport (government) Category:LS Ideas Bank Category:Transport & planning